The lives and stories of Oregon State University

While summer can be a quiet time on campus, there was no slowing down for the Campaign for OSU. On June 30, the OSU Foundation marked a record-breaking fundraising year with commitments from alumni and friends totaling more than $126 million in FY08 alone. Contributions continued in the last two months of summer, and as of August 31, the campaign topped $441.7 million in new commitments toward the $625 million goal. Recent contributions include a gift of $2.6 million from the late Franklin McEdward, a 1957 engineering alumnus who left the majority of his estate to OSU. The gift will primarily benefit the Valley Library, funding a new professorship, an undergraduate learning initiative, and a new reading room. A portion of McEdward’s gift will also benefit the College of Engineering.

This fall President Ed Ray is helping the OSU Foundation focus attention on a special initiative to reach the $100 million campaign goal for scholarships and fellowships. This effort will raise support for both merit and need-based student aid including Presidential Scholarships, which attract Oregon’s best and brightest students, and the new Bridge to Success Program, which is providing tuition-free education to in-state students with the greatest financial need.

For more information about campaign progress or the scholarship initiative, visit campaignforosu.org.